I got tons of emails after Nancy Straight's post where she suggested going on a blog tour, asking for more information on what the heck it even means to take your book on a virtual tour.
Well, dear readers, the girls from Kismet Book Touring are here to give you 5 tips for planning a blog tour so that you can get out there and get noticed!
Laura, thank you so much for inviting us to stop by to talk about blog tours!!! In our work with authors at Kismet Book Touring, we get to help craft tours for a variety of authors and books. And as bloggers at Bewitched Bookworms, we adore participating in tours and trumpeting the news about the books we love!
In our three years of blogging, hosting and creating blog tours we’ve come to some conclusions on what we think make a smashing blog tour and we’re thrilled to get to share them with your readers!
1.Get a good fit. There’s nothing stranger for a reader than when they show up at your blog, which regularly features historical romance to find a paranormal sci-fi book on tour. And, as an author, why would you want your contemporary ya book to be featured on a site that caters to Steampunk? Like a great pair of jeans, getting the right fit is imperative.
2. Be organized. If you’re setting up a tour on your own or hiring someone to do it for you, organization is key. Making sure all the parties involved know what they’re posting and when is critical to a smooth running tour. Hiccups always happen, it’s inherent in the process, but organization will save you time and again. It’s worth it!
3. Spread the word. A party’s just not a party if no one shows up. When you’re hosting a tour, it’s smart to use all of your social media savvy to share the news about the awesomesauce book on tour. As the word goes viral you get extra traffic through your site and the book on tour gets that many more eyes on it.
4. Make it worth their while. Nothing grabs attention like a give-away. From the chance to win the book on tour to a higher end prize, like presents at a kid’s party, prizes generate tons of excitement. When you dovetail that in with spreading the word about your tour, you can really maximize your results.
5. Have fun! At the end of it all, remember that the best endorsement a blogger can give or a book can get is the genuine, unadulterated enthusiasm of a book lover!!
We hope these tips are helpful and thank you again for having us!!!
Have you been on a blog tour or even tried organizing a blog tour of your own? I'd love to hear about your experience below!
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Great post! Bookmarked it for later :) Of course, I'll be looking forward to your blog tour, wink wink.
ReplyDeleteGreat information Laura - I've had "explore blog tour" on my task list for months and it keeps getting pushed to the bottom. I've managed to follow through with several interviews and guest posts, but up to now the blog tour experience has eluded me because of the scope of commitment. I'm working on my fifth book and I've decided to take a break after this and your post has inspired me to invest some of that break-time to finally move "blog tour" to the top of the list. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIf the celestial muses align then one day I'll need to do this. It's good to have the information presented in a concise and thought-out manner. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis is really useful and thank you to the girls at Kismet Book Touring:) Touching on the excellent advice to "Get a Good Fit" it's sensible to scout out potential blogs before agreeing to guest post, to make certain it's the right place to talk about your book. As another writer posted on an author forum: 'Writing is a craft; Self Publishing is a business' and I couldn't agree more!
ReplyDeleteIf I could add my tips: It's a good idea to have a few spare blog posts already saved to file. (In my experience, a blank page combined with a deadline, is a recipe for writer's block). Also make up a word document with all links (embedded and written out in full HTML) to your previous titles and social media outlets, and save to file.
Julia